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2/22/11

House Tour #2 with my neighbor, Rachel Burch

Welcome to another house tour in the month of February! I am enjoying these so much I may extend this year round to keep me inspired. This house tour is especially fun for me to share because it belongs to my favorite neighbors, the Burch family!

Rachel agreed to letting me come over and take photos of her house a few days before Valentine's day when the ground was still covered in snow and they were keeping busy as they awaited the birth of their son. I had all of the photos edited and ready to post last week when I remembered I hadn't e-mailed her the interview questions! I sent her an e-mail about it last Friday (although I still forgot to attach the questions) and the next thing I heard back was that she'd had her baby early the next morning! How that all went down is another beautiful story in itself.

Rachel graciously sent me over interview questions that she hand wrote while staying with her son in the NICU this week. They're hoping to bring him home in a few days and we are so eager to meet the little guy! I hope you enjoy this peek into the beautiful home of the Burch's.

Q: How would you describe your interior style?A: If I had to define it in one word I'd say 'uncluttered'. I believe we have too many people living here to have a bunch of stuff just sitting around taking up space. I love to follow the old rule of having nothing in your house that you don't use often or absolutely love.

Q: What has most influenced your style?A: My parents have always enjoyed decorating their home and they change things up often. Although they have very different taste than me, I think I inherited a love of styling my space from them. I also happen to be surrounded by friends who have incredible taste and beautiful homes. I think that's where I get most of my inspiration.

Q: When did you start having an opinion about your home decor?A: I can remember ripping off the ugly pink bow wallpaper in my room when I was in 7th grade, without my parents' permission! I then redecorated in a hunter green/maroon color scheme that I thought was awesome. Keep in mind this was 1993!

Q: Which is your favorite room? Why?A: Right now, I'd say Walter's room/the play room. Maybe I'm just being sentimental since I can't wait for him to come home and put it to good use. I love the swing, the hand-me-down vintage furniture, and the circus curtains I scored on eBay.

Q: Do you feel like your space is working for you or have you had to adjust your expectations of perfect?A: I feel like this house is pretty close to perfect for our young family. Having 4 children in one room wouldn't work for every family, and it probably won't be ideal as they get older, but for now it works very well. We have a large back yard, a dining room that seats ten so we can entertain, and a room in the basement that serves as a family closet. 2,300 sq. ft. might not sound like a lot for a family of 7 but it works for us.

Q: Where is it all from?A: Flea markets, garage sales, craigslist, eBay, Ikea, and hand-me-downs from family. Our only splurge was the leather couch from a department store. With all of these kids, we needed a durable seating option.

Q: What do you have your eye on that you hope to own some day?A: As far as furniture goes, I'm very content with our hodge podge of bargains and hand-me-downs. I do look forward to the day when I can afford some amazing fabric for curtains, bedding, etc.

Q: People are coming over! What do you tackle first?A: My kids are actually old enough that with their help, we can get the house looking decent with only a few moments notice. They put their toys away while I sweep the floors.

I've been enamored with the Burch's home ever since she first invited me in and gave me a new neighbor tour! She's got beautiful vintage touches in every room and that rope swing is Sebastian's favorite thing in their house! He has actually told me he wants to live there!

Thank you, Burch's, for letting me invade your home so close to Walter's birth. We're all so excited that he's finally here and are looking forward to him coming home, too. And I'm going to schedule a play date so your kids can teach mine how to get the place ready for company!

58 comments:

What a beautiful home! It's really lovely--I'm a fan of the way Rachel uses lots of white spaces but still makes everything incredibly colourful with bursts of bright accessories. And that fuschia wallpaper!

Her house is officially my dream home!!! I have four kids and my house is the same size as hers but it's drab and so...um, basic builder boring. One question, do they own it or rent? I just ask because of all the wonderful wall colors and the kitchen is divine, so I assume the ownership. Hard to do such funky fun things when you rent. Sigh. I'm in love, thanks for sharing!!

Not only is her house flawless, impeccable and adorable....Rachel Burch herself has an endearing personality that is incomparable in quality...highly principled, honest, loving and bursting with creativity and stamina. Thank you so much for featuring her, Rachel. We love her...and we love your blog!Amy Boyd

WOW i'm amazed!!!! i love all the great pops of color everywhere, and i applaud this mama of... 5? did i read that correctly? for being so on top of things and keeping the place looking Spontaneous Guest Ready!!!!!

Oh wow, your neighbor's home is so full of color - I can't get over how every room pops and is so perfectly coordinated! One day I would love to have a black and white checkered kitchen floor - it's one of those things I've always lusted after!

aw, i love rachel and her sweet family! i remember the first time skyler took me over there for a tour of their house. matt had a kiddie swimming pool set up in the basement and oliver was playing in it! it was so cute. this is such a fun feature, rachel!

holy mackerel! i love this house! i only have two children and toys are everywhere... (i am working on that + plan to get totally organized soon), but i love the 1st photo of the wreath, and that green cookoo clock reminds me of my grandma!

Thanks for all the kind words! They've just made my week! The kitchen floor was here when we moved in so I'm a bit clueless as to how to install one. As far as paint colors goes, we painted when we moved in 4 years ago. I should have written down the color names but I failed to, sorry!

Another visitor from Apartment Therapy here- your house is darling! Did you make the felt wreath above the cuckoo clock? I love it- if you ever have time to share a tutorial I'd totally check it out. Thanks for sharing your home!

I absolutely LOVE the pink and white damask wallpaper. I love the idea of using wallpaper, but find my self chickening out sometimes. I know it's back "in," but I find myself thinking back to the early 90's and my awful wallpaper in my bedroom covered with NKOTB posters. **Shivers**

I also LOVE the black and white damask drapes. I JUST made drapes like that on Sunday (same damask material!!). Surprisingly it was so easy - and cheap! I will put the tutorial up on my blog sometime in the next week: www.thekraftycamel.blogspot.com